History of the Holy Dormition Orthodox Church - 1957 to 1987
from the parish's Eightieth Year anniversary publication
Thirty Additional Years of Progress
Strangers visiting the city park in Benld on special occasions notice the structure with the onion shaped domes to the east. Many of them become curious, wishing to learn more about it, and visit the temple. In the past several years, since tourism in Illinois has been on an increase, more tourists in the area visit the parish. Some just go by, take a picture or two and are on their way. Others wish to visit the inside and ask many questions. In the past few years some of the visitors have been: architects, painters, clergy, reporters, college students, college professors and even five west point cadets on summer break. All of them have complimented the parish on the excellent physical condition of the structure, on the appointments within the temple and always comment on the idea of keeping the old traditions alive.
It has been the faith, hard work and financial aid of the parishioners, with the help of our many friends, that have helped keep the property in this excellent condition. Many large projects have been completed in the last 30 years since the golden anniversary in 1957. A list of these projects follows:
A new furnace was installed in the rectory in December of 1963... In September of 1966 the crosses and the domes were repaired by American Arts & Crafts of Vandalea. They reported that the crosses were repaired but they will not last much longer and would have to be replaced…
During the spring of 1967 new stainless steel crosses were constructed by Ideal Welding company, with Mike Wasylenko in charge of the project. The crosses were polished and they were installed in July of that year…
New red carpeting was installed in the temple in July of 1968... The electrical wiring was revamped and outlets were put on the side walls in December 1968. A few months later the new side lights were installed…
In April of 1970 a new roof was put on the temple…
The interior walls and ceiling were cleaned during the summer and fall of 1971. The contract was awarded to Captain Clean, Inc…
The steps and front entrance were deteriorating rapidly and in poor condition. In the summer of 1972 a meeting was held and after much discussion the parish went on record to hire an architect and repair the entrance. Mr. Edward A. Kane, Jr., of Edwardsville was employed. Mr. Ed Kane is the grandson of Edward A. Kane, who was the architect in charge of building the holy temple in 1915. In the old files, young Ed Kane found the original blueprints of the building. In November of 1972 a contract was awarded to Moore construction company of Granite City to construct the new entrance. Work started in November of 1972 and was completed in the spring of 1973...
About this same time it was discovered that the windows in the temple were in very bad condition and had to be replaced. A committee was appointed to come up with some ideas on how the parish could accomplish this, at this time, with the other project just being completed. In a few weeks the committee came up with an idea for the project: 1. windows could be made into icon windows. 2. families could purchase windows as memorials. In a very short time all the windows were spoken for and the painting of the icons and construction of the windows were begun in 1973. On the third Sunday of July 1973, the windows were blessed…
A set of new interior and exterior doors were installed in September of 1974…
During a parish meeting in December of 1974 it was decided to change the windows on the north and south side of the rectory which were in very bad condition…
In March of 1975 it was decided to award a contract to Beers Masonry of Benld to brick the rectory. Work was completed in the summer of that year…
Also in 1975 after a study of the heating systems, it was decided to install a new heating system and air conditioning system in the temple. The contract was awarded to Westhoff Heating and Cooling company of Litchfield…
In the spring of 1976 a new roof and gutters were put on the rectory…
In December of 1979 the Mid-Continental Waterproofing company of Ft. Scot, Kansas, with local offices in Jacksonville, Illinois, completed the restoration of the temple. This restoration began in October. It entailed sandblasting all the brick work and the three domes. removing the mortar between the bricks and replacing it with new mortar. The domes were repainted with a special silicone paint. The work was directed by Eugene Caldwell, branch manager of the Jacksonville office. The steeple jack who sandblasted and painted the domes was Scott Hardt of Champaign, Illinois…
In August of 1981 quality roofers were awarded a contract to replace the roof on the temple…
A suspended ceiling was put up in the temple hall in January of 1982…
During the diamond jubilee year–1982–the parish embarked upon a big project, a new parish hall. The project was completed that summer and on Sunday, August 1, the hall was dedicated. The dedication services were conducted by Father Michael Barna of Detroit, Michigan, who was born in Benld. His father, the Reverend Fr. Ilia Barna, served this parish from 1917 through 1923. Modern in every detail, the energy efficient building has large and efficient kitchen facilities, air conditioning, bar and ample room for all social events. This 5000 plus square foot building was built on Central Avenue, two blocks from the parish.
In the spring of 1983, Beershank & Subick contractors were contracted to completely remodel the interior of the rectory. This project included changing the windows on the west side, revamping the floor plan of the living room area, and complete remodeling of the kitchen and bathroom. This work was completed in the spring of 1984…
It's gone! Yes it is gone! The old landmark in front of the parish–the ditch–is gone. In March of 1985 an agreement was reached with Anderson Concrete Pipe company of Springfield, Illinois, to obtain a five foot high reinforced concrete pipe for the ditch. Permission to install and cover this pipe had been obtained from the city of Benld. On May 17th the first six pipes were laid. Ranger Construction company of Gillespie installed the pipes. Mike Wasylenko made the trips to Springfield to pick up the pipe with his large semi-truck, and several men of the parish came the day of installing the pipe to put on the tar sealer. By the fall of 1985 150 feet of pipe was laid and a parking lot constructed…
In 1986 the steps to the rectory were revamped and constructed of brick. This was done by Alex Pellock. The steps now matched the brick which was installed on the rectory in 1975…
In the summer of 1986 a patio was added to the rectory. This was donated by friends of the parish who live in Michigan. Several men of the parish laid the forms and cement... at a parish meeting it was decided to repair the domes and the louvers below the domes. Mike Wasylenko designed and built from 1/8 sheet aluminum all the necessary parts (360 plus). Foiles Painting & Construction company of Shipman was awarded the contract. After getting into the framework of the domes it was discovered that much of the wood was severely deteriorated. It was determined that a heavy wind storm certainly would have toppled the small north dome. All three domes were reinforced before the aluminum was installed. The domes were sandblasted and painted with a polyurethane gold paint. This was completed in January of 1987…
Also in early winter of 1986 a rest room was installed in the temple hall. This much needed project was donated through the generosity of Ed & Jean Kuklis of Arvada, Colorado…
Certainly, all of the above was accomplished only through the faith, dedication and hard work of the parishioners. For those who have passed on to their reward may their memory be eternal.
For those who continue to attend and support the parish - God grant them many years.
The above text was excerpted from the 1987 Eightieth Anniversary publication by the Holy Dormition of the Theotokos Orthodox Parish, Benld Illinos. Only minimal adjustments have been made to the original text (such as correcting typographical errors and adding clarification in brackets of alternate transliterated spellings).